Into the fire
by Trevor the Enchanter
Summary: Team Possible has been betrayed. Now on the run from ally and enemy alike, Kim Possible must uncover the plot against her before time runs out...
1. Order 31

"How long has it been since we've been able to just relax and enjoy ourselves?" Ron smiled, laying down on the grass next to Kim, looking up at the sky.

"Well, if you call eighteen credits and stopping Drakken and Shego twice in the past week relaxing, we do it all the time." Kim admitted, her nose still in her anthropology book. College was still a bit of an adjustment for her. She was still getting A's and B's, but found that balancing school and hero life was a lot more difficult as an adult.

"Forget about schoolwork for a while and just have some fun," Ron insisted, pulling the book out of her hands, Kim giving him an annoyed glare. "You've always been far too serious." When Kim moved to get it, Ron merely used his telekinesis to move it out of her reach.

"Ron, stop it!" Kim demanded, reaching for her book, only to find it again out of their reach. She briefly worried that someone would notice, but out of everyone within sight, all of them were caught up in their own lives. To them, Team Possible was just part of the scenery

"Come on, Kim, a little bit of relaxation won't kill you." Ron smiled at her. "Do you even remember the last time you went somewhere, or just sat back for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet?"

"I do that all the time!" Kim protested. "Like two weeks ago... no, that was interrupted. Had to stop Dementor from breaking into a lab. But there was... wait, had to get a little boy out of a well." She was about to open her mouth a third time, but abruptly shut it. Much as she wanted to deny it, Kim had a difficult time remembering the last occasion.

"Even Monique's been noticing it." Ron smirked, his point being made. His friendship with Monique was almost nonexistent by this point, which meant that if she confronted him, she was quite concerned about Kim.

"I suppose one day won't kill me." Kim eventually conceded. "So... anything exciting happening?" The instant she spoke those words, she realized that all of the time she had been spending with him was on their missions. The rest of the time, she was either studying, or hanging out with Monique. She felt a little guilty for taking Ron for granted.

"Not especially; I'm still stuck at home with my parents." Ron sighed. One of the things he left out was that the fights between the two of them had been increasing both in occurrence and intensity. He was a frequent subject of their rants, and whenever he sensed something coming, Ron did everything possible to get away until it was over. He opened his mouth to tell KP...

_Shut up; this is the first time in weeks you two have been able to hang out together, Stoppable. _Ron exclaimed. _Don't ruin the moment by complaining for what passes as your life. _

"I spend a lot of my spare time practicing with this mystical monkey ability I have." Ron responded in lieu of mentioning his family situation.

"Wait, no computer games?" Kim teased him. "Sometimes, you're as bad as Wade."

"Yeah; that kid spends his entire life in front of a screen." Ron shook his head. "Makes me look downright adventurous by comparison, and definitely so compared to the adrenaline junkie sitting right next to me."

"I am not an adrenaline junkie!" Kim glared at him, smacking him on the shoulder.

"Says the woman who decided to jump off a bridge into the river because she was bored." Ron reminded, moving closer to her.

"It was 100 degrees and humid; I was burning alive out here!" Kim complained. "Besides, who are you to talk? You're the one who decided to try and fight Shego alone." Her voice transformed into a more concerned tone. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm a large, semi-muscular man; I can take care of myself." Ron smiled reassuringly. Although he might have confronted, fighting was not exactly the proper way to describe the two of them. They did spar, to a certain degree, but for the rest of the time, they were unable to keep their hands off each other.

_I really should tell Kim what's going on; she'll find out eventually, anyway. _Ron thought to himself. Although it was quite rocky at times, he and Shego were still in a relationship. They had agreed to keep it secret from everyone else, mostly at Shego's insistence. She was honestly scared at Kim's reaction; the fight at Wannaweep was still fresh in her mind.

However, they had nearly gotten caught. Kim had defeated the synthrodrones that Drakken used, which were considerably upgraded from the originals. Drakken's comment: "Wait, were you two fighting or fornicating?" had been closer to the mark than he had likely realized. _At least after that, the mission was successful. _Drakken was too busy fleeing from an enraged Shego to offer much resistance to them.

"You had to face Shego alone; I'm not about to let that happen again." Kim's eyes darkened and her lip curled with anger. When she was unable to reach him, she had feared the worst. Yes, his skills had grown, but she was still extremely protective of him.

"I know I can't tell you not to worry, but... so what do you want to do?" Ron wondered. "We got a whole college to explore." Privately, Ron did not think Kim was fully ready for working for Global Justice just yet. Although she hid it well, her temper was still quite volatile and the memories still haunted her. He knew better than to bring it up, of course. Kim was the most stubborn person he had ever known. "They've got a Bueno Nacho!"

"Of all the places you could visit on campus, why would you pick Bueno Naco?" Kim sighed, but a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"I'm starving; can't have fun on an empty stomach." Ron pointed. "Still beats your idea of touring an art museum."

"Come on, you've got to admire the talent and hard work all the artists put into that." Kim stated.

"No way, you're not dragging me to another art museum!" Ron warned, beginning to climb up the tree that they were sitting under. Kim raised her eyebrow at his skill. If he was able to climb that quickly, why did he constantly slip and slide when they had to scale cliffs?

"Do you really think I'm not going to be able to follow you up there?" Kim pointed out, hands on her hips. Ron hung by his knees on one of the higher branches, blowing a raspberry in her direction. "Ron, get down here!"

"Fine, fine, spoil all my fun." Ron rolled his eyes, climbing down and flipping onto the ground once he climbed down to ten feet. "Ta-da!"

"Are you trying to drive me insane?" Kim complained. "If so, you're doing a great job of it."

"Hard not to; it's a rather short trip." Ron teased, and out of impulse, gave Kim a brief kiss on the lips. His eyes widened once his mind registered what he had just done. He began to blush and look away, but it also reminded him that even if they were no longer together, his feelings towards Kim were not fully gone.

"Let's... let's just head to Bueno Nacho, shall we?" Kim eventually managed to stammer out. _Does this mean he wants to get back together with me? _She wondered. The very thought of it filled her with joy and dread.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What are you moping about now, Shego?" Drakken complained, although he was more than ready to run should she decide to use him as target practice. Not all of his burns had healed from the last time, although he was still forced to admit that she had a right to be angry at his comments.

"None of your business; go away!" Shego snapped at him, while Drakken made a hasty retreat.

"Look, you know... we're still an evil family, and if anything is bothering you, you can tell me, right?" Drakken told her, hoping that softening his approach would get his charge to open up. He was used to seeing her sarcastic and angry, not full of angst. Drakken actually kind of missed Shego's snarky comments about whatever his latest plan for world domination happened to be.

She briefly considered blasting him again, but decided against it. He did genuinely care about her, even if Drakken didn't know how to show it. "I'll be all right, Doctor D; I just need to be alone right now."

"Uh... let me know if you change your mind." Drakken offered. "In the meantime, I have a new plan that will defeat Kim Possible once and for all!"

"Yeah, great; have fun with that." Shego dismissed. Once he left, she pondered all of the choices she had made. Ron's words kept echoing through her head over and over.

_Why do I feel like I just made a big mistake? _Shego wondered. Her initial fears did not come true; they were still together even though they were on the opposite sides of the law. Hell, their fight was little more than a flirting session. Neither of them really made much of an effort to defeat the other, and her greatest weapon was a kiss that knocked him senseless.

"This is who I am; I can't change that." Shego told herself. She had repeated that line a thousand times, but it didn't stop the doubts from entering. Her crimes didn't bring her the thrill it once had. Shego never had any interest in world conquest the way Drakken had, or even cared about the money she made, although it was certainly a decent side benefit of her job.

_Of course, ten minutes with my brothers and I'm more than ready to go back. _Shego mused. Last week, she had made the mistake of confiding her doubts to her oldest brother, Hego. Yes, his real name was Henry, but it was hard for to think of him as anyone other than Hego. The instant she opened her mouth, he began to make a speech about how he knew she would do the right thing, that being a hero was in her blood, that he's glad that she finally realized how foolish she was to become a villain. The sound of his self-righteousness infuriated her so much that she slammed the phone down and went off to rob a small bank.

She paced around the lair, knowing the entire place by heart, not paying attention to anything that was going on around her. She bumped into some of the henchmen, completely ignoring their responses. A few wanted to say something, but knew better than to incur her wrath.

"Yeah; even they aren't that stupid." She laughed, but it came out as bitterness instead of satisfaction. Fear no longer appealed to her. At first, she enjoyed it, seeing the terror that cropped up on their faces, happy to finally be on the receiving end of it. Now it just made her feel hollow.

"Shego, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Drakken exclaimed, panting to catch up to her.

"Let me guess; there's some top secret device that you want me to steal so you can try to take over the world." Shego sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Now that's the Shego I remember!" Drakken laughed. It just didn't seem normal without her comments. At one time, he would have been perfectly happy to see her silent, but her sarcasm had become a part of his life. "Besides, there's no one else here I would trust to do you?"

"Oh, really?" Shego looked at him, her face indifferent but her heart fluttering. She always enjoyed being appreciated and it was moments like these that reminded her of why she began working for Drakken in the first place. He was usually insensitive, with conversations that ended with her playing "make Drakken go ouch", but every once in a while, he knew just what to say to cheer her up.

She did the job with nearly the kind of enthusiasm that she had before. Drakken kept a look out for Team Possible and handed her the code-cracking device that he developed in order to get past the security. It didn't look like much to her- just a cube the size of her hand, but it obviously seemed important to Drakken.

Once the job was over, however, her doubts began to return.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Haven't had that much fun in ages!" Kim exclaimed, stopping just outside her home. Although she had the grades to be accepted into most universities, she had chosen to go to Middleton State College. She did not wish to be so far from home, and more than that, did not want to separate from Ron. He'd always been there for her... no matter how she sometimes treated him.

"See; told you that you needed to loosen up a bit." Ron grinned. "Even if I had to go to an art museum in order to get you to smile."

"And you still managed to lose your pants." Kim shook her head, but it was with suppressed laughter. Some things simply didn't change.

"How was I supposed to see that statue of David and Goliath?" Ron complained.

"Ron, the statue was ten feet high; how could you have missed that?" Kim couldn't take it before and broke down into laughter.

"Uh... my eyes were wandering." He was forced to admit. "Got to admit, that place had some hot girls!"

"Do you ever stop thinking with your hormones?" Kim wondered, knowing that the answer was most likely no.

"Of course; sometimes I think with my stomach instead." Ron grinned. He had to admit, he was glad to see Kim happy once again. After her kidnapping, it seemed like she was permanently locked in depression. It took him a lot of time and effort to coax her out of her depression, but it paid off. "That reminds me; I'm hungry again."

"You ate four nacos; how can you still be hungry?" Kim asked in disbelief.

"Only had three; Rufus ate the last one." Ron pointed out. Upon hearing his name, his mole rat popped out of his pocket and began rubbing its stomach in satisfaction. "So are your parents here?"

"No; mom had some kind of medical convention and dragged the rest of the family along with her." Kim admitted.

"Should be back soon, though, the way your brothers cause a ruckus." Ron informed. "I still can't believe they invited her back after what happened at the last one."

"Neither can I, to be honest with you." Kim chuckled. Somehow, Jim and Tim had managed to break into the lab where they were observing prototypes of the latest medical inventions. What resulted was the two of them hacking into one of the MRI machines and attaching robotic legs onto it. Unfortunately, it had proved a little beyond their control and it ran rampant, going after any individual unfortunate enough to cross its path. "I hope mom at least made sure they didn't bring any of their gadgets along this time."

"So we've got the house to ourselves, then." Ron proclaimed, stretching out on the couch. "Oh, crap!"

"What is it?" Kim immediately went on the alert.

"Forgot all about my history class!" Ron suddenly realized. "I hope I don't lose any attendance points."

"Ron, this is college; they don't take attendance." Kim reminded him.

"Oh, yeah; still kind of weird actually being an adult." Ron admitted. "I can't quite wrap my head around it. Am I supposed to be all mature now?"

"We'll get used to it eventually." Kim replied. "At least this means I can pursue my dream."

"Going to work for Global Justice full time, huh?" Ron smiled. "Who would have guessed a simple typing error would have made such an enormous difference? I, for one, never imagined that we'd be a pair of superheroes."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Kim declared. It was difficult for her at first, and she frequently complained about how her job was cutting into her social life. Now, however, she couldn't imagine not doing what she did. The period where she was suspended had been among the most difficult of her life... although admittedly there were other reasons for that as well.

She sat down next to him, and before she knew it, had buried her head into his shoulder. Neither of them spoke, simply content with the silence. Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her as close to her as he could. It reminded them both of the old days, before their lives had gotten so complicated. _Being kidnapped and learning of a long-lost relative will do that to you, _Kim mused.

"Thanks for hanging out with me, KP." Ron finally broke the silence.

"You're welcome; I'm sorry I didn't contact you before." Kim looked at him with a guilty expression. "I didn't mean to ignore you. I just..."

"I know; life keeps both of us occupied." Ron replied. _I've grown up more than I thought. _Not so long ago, he'd be falling into depression, terrified that he might have done something wrong and angered her. For a good part of his life, she had been the only friend he ever had. His insecurity was often highly visible as he constantly worried about her leaving. Now, however, he was better able to understand that she had her own life independent of hers. "How are you parents doing, by the way?"

"It's still frosty between them, but not the way it was when all of this began." Kim responded absently. In truth, her mind was elsewhere at the moment. Ron noticed as much and decided not to inquire further.

"Uh...KP... you're staring at me." Ron observed. It had been going on for nearly thirty seconds, confusing him.

"Sorry; got a bit lost in my head for a bit." Kim pointed out.

"I thought that was my job." Ron jested.

_Should I ask him? _Kim wondered. It was times like this that made her want to resume the relationship they once had. The idea was in the back of her mind almost constantly, but with the fear that she would harm him, had refrained from ever bringing it up. Now... she was coming closer than she had before. _Is he still interested in me? Has he found someone else? _Kim didn't think so. Even if she had pushed him away before, Kim couldn't fathom him keeping something that big from her.

She was about to gather her courage to bring up the subject when her communicator beeped. Frustrated yet grateful at the same time for the distraction, she opened it and asked: "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"I'm afraid it's not Wade this time." Director informed them. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Oh...uh... what can I do for you, Director?" Kim inquired.

"Come on, can't we get at least a small break?" Ron complained. "Some of those bad guys have got to take vacations!" Deep down, though, he knew that this was something bad, beyond what was normal even for them. His still untrained senses were warning him of something, though he was unable to pinpoint it.

"That's... not what I was calling about." Director sighed. Kim observed that her facial expressions were uncharacteristically grim, even for her. "Your reinstatement has not been universally accepted."

"So you're kicking me out again?" Kim gasped, trying to hold back her tears. The day had been going so well, and to discover that her hopes were being ruined...

"Not exactly," Director admitted, looking nearly as upset as she was. "I'm afraid... Order 31 has been initiated. I'm sorry, Miss Possible."

"What... what are you..." Kim still gasped in confusion, her mind unable to comprehend just what she was saying. Ron was equally confused and outraged on Kim's behalf.

His confusion soon turned to horror when a Global Justice agent entered the room and fired three bullets into Kim's chest before either of them could react.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bet you weren't expecting that one! The next chapter should be up in a week or so, which will hopefully answer any questions you might have.


	2. Possible's Flight

_No... no, this isn't possible. _Ron gasped in horror. Kim slumped to the ground, unresponsive. How could this have happened? They were supposed to have a future together! Romantic or not, they were supposed to know each other the rest of their lives, and now that had just come to a tragic end. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that it was global Justice, someone she had trusted completely, had had struck the fatal blow.

His shock was quickly giving way to anger. His hands ignited and he turned to face their attacker, intent on exacting vengeance. "You're going to pay dearly for that." Ron swore, his voice quieter than it had ever been.

He fired two blasts in order to knock the Agent off balance and immediately charged in. All fear, all rational thought was gone, replaced only by a desire to make the man who took his best friend away from him pay with his life. His eyes saw red and blood poured through every vein in his body.

And not a single blow from his barrage hit its target. His opponent had expertly dodged them all, even holding one hand behind his back as a mocking gesture. Ron was so enraged that his attacks were off-balance, making him sloppy, as a brutal fist to the gut couldn't help but remind him.

All the while, the Agent was simply standing there, not moving an inch. "Pathetic, Stoppable." Tristan smiled. "And you're supposed to be Miss Possible's sidekick?"

"You murdered her!" Ron bellowed. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to kill you!"

"Take a look behind you, Stoppable." Tristan gestured, but Ron ignored him. He could sense more presences in the house now, and cursed himself for not acting sooner.

_If I had, KP would still be alive. _Ron sighed, depression threatening to overtake him. _No, I can't let that happen! I can't let this go unpunished! _"I'm not falling for any of your tricks." Ron promised. He knew the possibility that he would simply get shot in the back, but saying that he was not thinking clearly at the moment was a dramatic understatement.

He attacked again, still keeping his senses peeled for anyone coming up behind him. Ron kept a better angle on his attack this time, though, being unpredictable, reversing his attacks often, making Tristan work furiously to keep him at by. Unfortunately, with such a small area, there was little room for him to maneuver.

One of his blows finally connected, smacking into his body armor. Ron wasted no time in pressing his advantage and threw several more, hoping for a killing blow. If he saw himself in a mirror at the present time, his eyes would be glowing red. The room around them was in tatters, and he nearly tripped over a piece of furniture.

It was the opportunity Tristan was waiting for. In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Ron was thrown back into the wall, his back aching badly and the drywall on the verge of collapse. He only just managed to move out of the way of a kick that could have taken his head off, but it touched him enough to where he stumbled back yet again. He looked for an open, a way to regain the imitative, but Tristan was too smart to give him one.

Tristan swung a punch towards his head. Only too late did Ron realize that it was a feint, and he felt a knee between his legs, sending him to the ground. He called upon his power, his hands nearly burning the carpet to cinders, but they were unable to react in time as he was pinned against the floor.

Determined not to give up, Ron spat at him: "Going to kill me too? If I die, you're coming with me!"

"Look behind you, fool." Tristan sneered, hauling him to his feet and throwing him against the couch. Ron's hands glowed with energy, prepared to burn the person who killed his best friend to cinders, when he heard a quiet voice that interrupted him.

Kim was moaning on the ground, still on her hands and knees, trying to force herself to her feet. All thought of revenge forgotten, Ron shoved himself out of Tristan's grip and knelt beside her. "KP... KP... KP..." Ron kept repeating, unable to say anything else. "Are you all right?" He finally managed to muster.

"I'm a bit stunned, but I'm fine." Kim replied, slowly getting to her feet. "Those bullets were pretty painful, though. What the hell is going on?"

"Global Justice has decided to kill us both!" Ron explained, almost forgetting that there was another person in the room.

"Perhaps you should look Miss Possible over; do you notice anything?" Tristan asked, gesturing to Kim. "The most obvious should be the lack of blood."

Ron glanced over towards Kim, and reluctantly concluded that he was quite correct in his statement. With three gunshots to the chest, blood should be splattered everywhere, and yet there wasn't a single drop of it to be found. _Which is more than can be said for me, _Ron admitted, wiping blood off of his lip.

Beginning to recover from the shock, Kim started talking: "So what is all of this about? What is Order 31? Why is Director doing this? What is she doing?"

"You can't possibly trust him!" Ron protested.

"If we were really going to kill you, we would have done so already." Tristan informed them. "Now... do you want to know or not?"

"Okay, what is all of this about?" Kim wondered. She'd known that attempts on her life were possible; the battle with Electronique was proof enough of that. However, she never imagined in a million years that Global Justice would try to kill her. She'd worked with them for years! This was how they repaid all of the hard work she had done for them?! Mentally, she told herself to calm her anger. There would be a time and a place for it; not only that, she still did not know just what was currently going on.

Tristan waited a few moments and began: "As for Order 31... it's an order given out in an emergency for the immediate termination of an Agent that has gone rogue. It is not ordinary procedure; there has to be an immediate and extreme threat to justify that kind of action. At my rank, I'm not even supposed to know such a thing exists, but I have ways on uncovering information."

"But KP hasn't done anything like that!" Ron protested. "She's the truest woman I know, better than any of them. Why would she be marked for death?"

"And there lies the problem; it's obvious to me that someone has set her up." Tristan remarked.

"Yeah, that one we already figured out." Kim snapped. "But who set me up? Why?'

"I don't know the answer to either of them." Tristan admitted. "Whoever it was, however, was someone with a great deal of influence. Only the Director has the authority to give the order in Global Justice, which means the order could only have come from their superiors. The problem is: which one... or ones?"

"Great; do you have anything that's actually helpful?" Ron snapped, still fuming over their betrayal.

"That means... Director set all of this up to try and buy us some time while she figures out the mystery." Kim deduced.

"I knew you were the smart one." Tristan smiled. "If they think you're dead, they won't be looking. It's only a temporary measure, though. Eventually, whoever is responsible will discover that your deaths were faked. We're hoping that in that time period, we will learn who is responsible for this."

"So... does everyone believe the way you do?" Kim wondered, fearing the answer. Even if Director sent someone who would not actually kill them, the fact that she had to hand-pick an individual suggested that at least some people in Global Justice believed that she was a threat and had to be eliminated. _Just when I thought things were beginning to look up, _Kim gulped, struggling to hold back tears. _How could I be so foolish? _

"I wish I could say they do, but no." Tristan shook his head. "Some of them believe that you're too dangerous to work for us, although none of them know that the order has been given out. Officially, their orders will be to capture you two once they discover that this was a setup."

Kim collapsed to her knees, completely speechless. Not only was the order to kill her given, many of the people she worked with believed that it was justified. She took several deep breaths, forcing the tears to stay inside her body, and managed to speak once again. "So... what's the plan?"

"What the fuck is wrong with them?!" Ron shouted. "Kim's sacrificed everything, risked her life, all to make the world a better place! They really think she should be killed? Why?!"

"You know why, Ron." Kim whispered, more to herself than the others. "Because of it... because of him!"

"They can't possibly be judging you based on that!" Ron exclaimed, but remembered in the aftermath of her kidnapping, many people were doing just that because of who she was related to. Ambrose... it always seemed to come back to Ambrose. _Her damned half-brother... they're judging her based on his actions. _He thought, though, that Global Justice would be smarter than that, that they would see past it. Evidently, both of them had been too optimistic on that point.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time to get out of here before the police come." Tristan began setting up the crime scene, with the rest of his team rushing into the room. "We're lucky you live in a relatively isolated part of Middleton, or this would be impossible. As it is, we still don't have a lot of time."

"Can we really trust him?" Ron whispered to Kim. He was upset by this, of course, but working at Global Justice full time had never appealed to him that much. He had gone on all of their adventures merely to make sure nothing happened to his best friend. Kim, on the other hand... this had become her life. She rarely thought of any other career, and to have her belief so cruelly ripped from her like this...

"Do we really have a choice?" Kim sighed. Ron wrapped his arms around her, trying to give what comfort he could. She was actually familiar with this agent. He was one of the people who pushed for her reinstatement and helped her readjust. Although she had never told anyone else, she began to confide in him about some of her worries and fears. "All right, I'll... I'll pack my things."

"No, absolutely not." Tristan cut her off. "I'm sorry, but we have to make this look convincing. Your room must be left intact, and... no one can know about this, not even your parents."

"Why can't I at least let them know I'm all right?" Kim questioned. "They're going to think I'm dead! Do you know what that will do to them?!"

"Yes, and I wouldn't do this if Director had any other option." Tristan sighed. "This will only be temporary, Kim. I swear, I'm going to find out who did this." His eyes flashed with her.

"Then I'm going with her!" Ron announced.

"Ron, no!" Kim exclaimed. "You could end up dead! Do you have any idea what we're in for?" Truth be told, neither did Kim, but she didn't want him dragged along with her. She was going to have to suffer yet again; Kim didn't want Ron to go through it as well.

"We're a team, KP... and we always will be." Ron promised, taking her hands in his. "Whatever happens, whatever we encounter, you don't have to go through this alone."

"Agreed; she's going to need all the protection she can get." Tristan smiled.

"So what now?" Kim sighed, reluctantly giving in. "How do we get out of here without being seen?"

Tristan informed them:"Many of the neighbors are currently at work, but according to intelligence, the people on the corner are ill and thus could observe you. It's far from perfect, but we've got to act. The alternative is another assassin coming to take you down, and this one may believe it's necessary."

Kim took her last look around the house. _It's only temporary, _Kim told herself over and over again, but couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. She feared that she'd never see her parents again, that she'd spend the rest of her life on the run. The thought of not seeing her dad's smiles, her mom's reassurances; she'd even miss the tweebs and the constant annoyance that they gave her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Although she appeared to be calm on the outside, Director was internally trembling. She had been waiting to hear news for hours, hoping that she had not just made a grave mistake. The situation was going to be difficult under the best of circumstances. If anything went wrong, both of them could end up dead.

_Assuming they're not dead, _Director worried. She had hand-picked a team that she believed was loyal to her, and believed that Team Possible was innocent. She was hoping to get them out of the line of fire, at least on a temporary basis. It wouldn't last long, but hopefully enough for her to figure out the mystery. When she did... well, let's just say Order 31 could work on other individuals as well.

On the other hand, it was quite possible that both Kim and Ron were dead, that the team she picked was the wrong one. Director did her best to force those thoughts out of her mind, and focus on her work. It did nothing to ease her concern, however. Her long years of service allowed her to be productive in spite of everything that was on her mind, and even then, she was far less efficient than she normally prided herself on being.

"Who could possibly have done this?" Director wondered for the thousandth time. There were many possibilites; Team Possible had many enemies and many people who would like to see them dead. Ones who could actually pull this off... that narrowed down the list considerably.

One of her top agents walked in, and she fought down the urge to rip his throat out. He was one of a select few who knew that the order had been initiated and unlike some, who were simply reluctantly following orders, she believed that Miss Possible had to be killed. "Director, our timetable was approximately one hour. It has been four and counting. Perhaps we should send another team."

"I have full confidence in them." Director replied, feeling the urge to vomit. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed." She was fortunately smart enough to exit her office before Director got even angrier.

But she wasn't going to be able to stall forever. Eventually, questions were going to be asked if there was no report. _Please, god, let me have made the right decision. _Director prayed. She wasn't that religious normally, but under the circumstances, it gave her some much-needed comfort. It was also likely that they'd have people from outside their organization do the job; Global Justice was in contact with numerous mercenary groups that they sometimes used when an operation had to be done that couldn't be associated with them; it was one of the uglier aspects of the job.

Her cell phone began to rang. The instant she picked it up, she heard Captain Joshua Cunningham state: "Objective complete; mission successful." hanging up before she could reply. Director breathed a sigh of relief; she had known all her communications were likely to be tapped, since everyone knew that she was a supporter of Team Possible.

_I've bought you all the time I could. _Director thought. _Now it's time for you two to do your part. _

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim laid down on the bed, trying to relax as best she could. Her mind was full of thoughts about her family. What would they be saying right now? Did they suspect anything? And was that really a good thing or not? _This'll teach me to take them for granted, _Kim thought. Ever since the incident, relations with her parents, especially her father, had been strained. She was able to forgive him, but it had never been the same between them since.

Now, though, if she could see them again, she'd fall down on her knees apologizing to them for the way she had acted before. Being in a position where she might never see them again helped make her see what was truly important to her. "Don't think like that; we'll get it figured out." Kim attempted to convince herself.

After being smuggled out of her house, the two of them were placed in a hotel under assumed names. Since both herself and Ron were well known and they didn't want to take a chance of anyone recognizing them, both of them had been disguised. Kim's hair was now a dark black with high quality dye that genuinely looked like the color was real, along with contacts that made her eyes look hazel. She hated wearing them- they were very uncomfortable, especially since she didn't need them to see- but she wanted to end up caught even less, so she put up with it.

Ron walked back into the room, his arms full of food. "Here; I got you something." He remarked. "You haven't eaten a thing all day."

"Thanks, Ron." Kim complimented, hearing her stomach growl once the food was in front of her.

"Hey, figure I might as well take advantage of all the money they gave us before we left." Ron shrugged. "Wouldn't let me get any from my Naco royalties, but at least this should be able to keep us alive for a while."

"10,000 dollars will be able to get us by for quite some time; maybe enough to start a whole new life if we wanted." Kim remarked. The thought depressed her, though. The fact that they received such a quantity indicated the Director did not believe that this would be solved anytime soon.

"Could be worse; at least you didn't have your head shaved!" Ron groaned. Instead of being dyed, he had his hair completely shaved off and given a whole new wardrobe. "I swear to god, he's the worst barber I ever had!" He couldn't help but laugh; the alternative was to break down in tears. "I think the worst haircut I've ever seen... is when the twins decided to cut it when you were sleeping."

"I told you never to mention that again!" Kim shouted, but she broke out laughing in the process. In her freshman year, Jim and Tim had decided to try and save them money on haircuts and wanted to prove that they could handle it. Oddly enough, it was one of the only occasions where they had not intentionally humiliated her. She was furious at the time, especially after the humiliation she had to endure at school, but now all it did was make her laugh hysterically.

"Oh, right, I didn't mean to." Ron gave her an innocent grin, to which she responded by punching him in the shoulder. "Ow! Are you trying to kill me?" He pretended to fall over in pain... but Kim got the last laugh when he actually did manage to trip over the leg of the bed, falling on his face.

"At least your pants stayed up this time," Kim giggled.

"I don't think I'd stand out very much." Ron admitted. "Seriously, they couldn't have found us a better Hotel." The place they were staying in was run-down and cheap, although it was fortunately reasonably kept up, although both of them could spot a couple of holes in the drywall in the room they were staying in.

"They won't be looking for us here... I hope." Kim sighed, her previous humor gone.

"I know; it's hard on me too." Ron admitted. "I wanted to at least say good-bye to my parents, but they probably think us dead. I don't know much about parenting, but I do realize that it's their worst nightmare. Maybe I'm distant from them, but I still love them, as unbearable as they can be at times." He hated thinking about him; the only thing that resulted was pain. His heart felt like it was about to rip out of its chest and only with intense concentration was he able to keep his hands from igniting with energy.

"I'm sorry, Ron; it's easy to forget that you're suffering too." Kim was forced to admit, hugging him from behind and resting her head on his shoulder. As soon as he spoke those words, she felt selfish. She was so caught up in her own angst and worries that she completely overlooked that Ron was suffering in the same way she was. True, he didn't dream of working for Global Justice the way she did, but he was still on the run and away from everything he had ever known, same as her. "I've been so caught up in myself that I forgot about you. I wouldn't blame you if you're angry with me."

"I'm not; this was my choice, KP." Ron pointed out. "As difficult as this might be, I wasn't going to let you suffer alone. If I had the chance to change it, I wouldn't... no matter how overused that statement might be."

"How long do you think this is going to last?" Kim wondered.

"I just wish it wasn't necessary at all." Ron replied, trying to find a way to vocalize his fears, but at the same time, not let Kim know just how hopeless he was beginning to feel.

"We ought to find this guy ourselves!" Kim announced. "We can't just stay on the run forever; we've got to be more proactive!" If there was one thing she hated, it was being powerless. Like it or not, they both were, at least until they had at least a clue as to who was responsible for this. However, she did not intend to stay idle; they were Team Possible! She swore that she would never be a victim again.

"I'm open to that idea." Ron declared. privately, he didn't see how they would do so. Their usual enemies had predictable patterns, even if neither of them could know exactly what shape their plan would take overall. Here... he couldn't even begin to guess who it was. He highly doubted it was any of their usual enemies, but the one or ones responsible... they had to have at least some kind of encounter in the past. At least that would give them a place to start.

"Still... I don't think we should stay for more than a couple of days." Kim mused. "If we stay in one place, it'll be easier for them to find us... whoever they are."

"You just read my mind." Ron stated and pulled out his cell phone.

"Ron, they said we're not supposed to call anyone!" Kim hissed. "Look, I want to talk to our friends and family as badly as you do, but it's not a risk that we can take right now."

"Those weren't the people I intended to call." Ron pointed out. "We're going to need a better place to stay. You'll probably hate it, but it'll be the last place they'll ever think to look for us... assuming they agree."

"Who are you talking about?" Kim wondered, but Ron ignored her and began typing in the phone number.

"Hello?" Ron asked. "Hi! Yes, it's good to hear from you too, Shego. Look... we're in a bit of a situation here. It's going to take me a while to explain everything."

XXXXXXXXXX


	3. Rising Stakes

This ended up taking a little longer than I thought it would. Researching for an original fiction story I'm planning is taking up a considerable amount of time. That, and I've got to begin job searching again. In any case, enjoy the new installment.

XXXXXXXXX

The Possible house was uncharacteristically silent. Even Jim and Tim did not continue with their usual antics. In fact, not one of them had spoken a word since they returned home and found the house in ruins.

Even worse, Kim was nowhere to be found. There was evidence of a struggle and blood spatters all over the living room. There were also linings that indicated that something had been dragged out of their house. Add that to the fact that they had heard not a single word from either Kim or Ron and the entire family was terrified.

It was like living the nightmare all over again. When Kim was kidnapped several months ago, they believed that they might never see her again and once she returned, her parents swore never to let her out of their sight again. She had changed a great deal since that incident and they all swore to help her heal through the experience. Her brothers even toned down their pranks, although they was partially because they feared her newfound wrath.

"Where is she?" James asked for the hundredth time. He did not expect an answer, even though he uttered those words in the presence of his family. All of them had been asking the same question and had no better idea than he.

"She'll be coming back soon, you'll see." Ann responded. She wouldn't, couldn't bring herself to believe that something had happened to her daughter yet again. After she had come home, she swore to protect her; she'd failed. "We know how strong she is. Whatever it is, she'll come back in a few days and say 'no big'."

"But that tracking device we installed in her neck has been deactivated." Jim pointed out.

"So have the backup ones." Tim added.

"Doesn't matter; we'll see her soon." Ann responded, effectively tuning out the rest of the world. She had taken time off work in order to get herself together. In fact, her boss had insisted on it, being that she was in no condition to perform neurosurgery.

"Boys, please give your mother some peace and quiet." James ordered them and by some miracle, they actually managed to fall silent. Truth be told, he'd rather see them be their usual selves. He was often irritated at their antics, Kim even more so, but now he'd give just about anything to have it back.

What worried him the most was the fact that he had not heard a thing from Global Justice. He had tried numerous times to contact them, but being that they were technically a secret organization, even if in reality, everyone knew of their existence, they had not given him so much as a crumb of information. James was not even told that they were doing everything in their power to locate her, something that he would have expected them to do.

Not only did it worry him, but it didn't make any sense to him. James knew that she was well-regarded by Global Justice and certainly they'd have at least some people searching, even if they had limited resources. Now, though, it didn't look like they cared at all. _There's got to be something missing here. _James thought. The information could mean many things, but nothing pleasant.

"Hey, dad, maybe we can find her ourselves." Tim suggested.

"We're working on a device that locates people based on their DNA." Jim agreed. The two of them were allowed to work on prototype and usually extremely expensive technology. It was amazing, but impractical on a large scale. "It could detect anyone within 10 miles once we get it done."

"Good luck, boys; I'm sure you can do it." James decided to humor them, even if he didn't think it would do any good. Odds were that she was a long way from that by this point in time. Assuming of course she was still alive... _No, don't think like that. _James demanded of himself. He refused to believe that his daughter was dead, the daughter that could face the worst of the country's criminals without blinking an eye.

"And whoever it was..." Tim smiled.

"Is going to pay dearly for this!" Jim finished. James walked off and left them to their work.

Not wanting to hang around the house, which was currently in a dead silence, James decided to head back to work. His job as a rocket scientist was taking up most of his time. in contrast to his wife, he worked almost constantly, never coming home except to sleep, and even then, it was only a few hours. All of his co-workers noticed his unkempt appearance, but none of them had said a word.

"I'm sorry, Kimmie-cub." James whispered as he climbed into his car, tears rolling down his cheeks. It was times like this where he thought he deserved this, deserved having Kim hate him the way she now did. One choice... one mistake... one bout of anger over a decade ago, and he was still paying for it.

XXXXXXXXXX

To put it mildly, this was an enormous adjustment for Kim. She felt a constant sense of wariness, believing that she might be jumped at any moment. Her nerves were shot, and she snapped at everyone, even Ron. The fact that she had been betrayed by Global Justice still resonated with her, even if it was somewhat comforting to know that Dr. Director did not personally do so and was even now working to clear her name.

"Still can't believe we're in Drakken's lair." Kim shook her head. Not that it was an uncommon occurrence. In fact, it happened once a week, often more during her adventures, but then she was fighting to stop Drakken's latest plan, which often self-destructed even without any assistance from her and Ron.

But staying there voluntarily for protection... that was something entirely new. Kim was finding it difficult to adjust to it. For one thing, Kim had never imagined that he would ever agree to it at all. It was Shego, of all people, that managed to convince Drakken to let them stay, stating that it would only be temporarily, arguing that the triumph over them should be his and his alone. It took much convincing, but he ultimately agreed, on the condition that they not be seen by anyone else.

It suited her perfectly fine. She didn't want to run into any of those idiots Drakken hired. They were little threat to her, but it would raise the alarm, and certainly at least some of them would be willing to sell her out if it meant more money in their pocket. Shego had informed them both that there was currently a 500,000 dollar reward for information leading to their location.

"Never imagined I'd ever feel sorry for you, Princess." Shego had told her.

"I don't need your pity, Shego." Kim had snarled at her, in no mood for any of her word games. Shego took a step back and barely managed to keep herself from gulping. Remembering what happened the last time she was enraged, the villainess decided to soften her voice.

"No, I mean... betrayed by almost everyone you trusted." Shego looked at her intently. "That's got to hurt."

"What the hell do you know about it?" Kim glared. "How could you possibly understand how all of this feels?"

"Perhaps I understand better than you realize, Kimmy." Shego glared and walked off before Kim could say another word.

She had not spoken to Shego since, which was perfectly fine, as far as she was concerned. It was difficult enough to keep her temper in check, and she was doing everything she could not to take her frustrations out on Ron; he was in the exact same situation she was. He was taking it a bit better, though, trying to see it as just one grand adventure. It was strange, considering how much he disliked adventures, but it if helped him cope, she wasn't going to get in the way.

"I've been wondering when I'd meet up with you, Ron." Kim declared. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Oh... just exploring." Ron stayed evasive. "We've been here nearly a week and I still get lost in this place."

"At least you're not Drakken; he locked himself in his own room!" Kim giggled. He might have gotten more competent as a villain, but some things never change. She had the feeling, though, that Ron was keeping something from her. She bit her lip, wondering whether to push further. He had a right to his own life, but it didn't mean she wasn't curious.

"Yeah, I was right next to him when he was there." Ron smiled, but said nothing further. Enemy or not, he did take them in, albeit grudgingly, so he decided to limit the jokes at his expense.

"Ron, you know we can't stay here forever." Kim sighed. Sooner or later, they were going to find them if Director hadn't figured out who had set them up. Oddly enough, Ron seemed to be quite relaxed here; he even had a frequent smile, although she failed to understand why. They were enemies with Shego and Drakken, right?

"I know, but I don't really have any other plans and frankly, it beats running from town to town, terrified for our lives." Ron stated.

"Ron, we're already worried for our lives." Kim reminded.

"I know, but are you going to tell me this is worse than being on the run?" Ron informed. Kim wanted to argue, but shut her mouth. She knew he was right, however distasteful it might have been. Still didn't mean she had to like it, though.

"I don't want to just wait here, though; I want to find out just who set us up like this." Kim paced around the hallway furiously. One of the henchmen walked through, not paying them any mind. They were wearing disguises, but a keen eye could still recognize them, so making every effort not to be seen seemed advisable.

"So what are your plans?" Ron wondered. he didn't see how they could find out. Wade was always their go-to guy for any research, and they'd be unable to access him. Of course, being a computer genius... he might just be able to find a way around that. The call, though, would have to come from his end, since he didn't know any way to make it undetectable.

"To be honest, I'm playing this by ear." Kim admitted. "All I know is that I'm sick and tired of setting around and waiting for whoever this is to make their move. Let's make them react to us for once."

"Hey, Ron, I was worried you got lost!" Shego exclaimed, walking right next to him. She had a smile, a genuine smile around him, one that made Kim take a couple of steps back.

"No, I'm very slowly finding my way around." Ron chuckled. "You need to make this place simpler, though. Even my shower had, like 15 buttons on it! I swear to god, I was actually pinned against the wall!"

Kim was expecting Shego to snarl or make some sardonic comment, but instead, she laughed along with him. "You'll get used to it eventually, I promise." Shego grinned. It was strange seeing her this way, especially since it seemed like the two of them had all but forgotten that she existed. Kim was perplexed, but slowly began to figure it out.

She studied Shego carefully, not wanting to miss a single detail. Some of the emotions she read surprised her, being that she was not accustomed to seeing anything other than hate and annoyance on her face. Amusement, joy, happiness... lust. _Is that why she agreed to take us in? _Kim realized, her eyes widening. _She likes Ron? _When Shego moved a bit too close to him for comfort, it confirmed everything she suspected.

Her eyes instantly became hard, her fists clenched. She did her best to ignore the voice that told her to rip Shego limb from limb. Logically, she knew she could do nothing about the direction Shego turned her interest to, but logic had nothing to do with the current situation. Her rival evidently noticed her anger, for she gave a weak excuse and all but ran from Kim's presence. Kim was forced to admit that the sight gave her considerable satisfaction.

"What was that all about?" Kim asked Ron, not being able to keep all of the anger out of her voice.

"I didn't want you to find out this way, KP." Ron admitted. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but she refused. I know the two of you don't like each other, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Famous last words, I know." He gave a bitter laugh. "And before you ask, Shego and I have been in a relationship for almost 6 months now."

"What?!" Kim screamed. This was even worse than she had imagined! She could easily read that Shego was interested in Ron, and she could certainly see how he would be attracted to her. He was a young man, after all, and Shego was a very attractive woman. But an actual relationship? She never would have dreamed it; it just seemed so... so wrong. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"KP... it's not as simple as you make it out to be." Ron stammered. "I can... explain."

"Explain what?!" Kim snapped. "That you're dating, possibly sleeping with, my arch-enemy. How could you do this to me, Ron?!"

"Kim, I can make my own decisions." Ron argued. "I know you don't like her, and I know you have plenty of good reasons for that, which is why I didn't mention it sooner."

"But Shego!" Kim snapped. "I can understand almost anyone else, but Shego?! When did this even start?"

"We started falling for each other when you were kidnapped and Drakken ended up in a coma." Ron explained, the memory bringing sadness to his eyes. "It didn't happen overnight, but we eventually found that we had more in common than we had previously guessed. We bonded over time, and... decided to take the next step."

Kim stayed silent for several moments, Ron anxiously awaiting what her response would be. He knew this was going to be a lot to take in, especially at a time like this. Ron knew he would have to mention it eventually, but neither he nor Shego were thinking about anything but their own feelings when KP discovered them.

"I'm your best friend... or I thought I was." Kim spat at him."Did you consider, even for a moment, how I would feel about this?! How could you have done this to me?!"

"I didn't know I had to clear everything I did with you." Ron snapped back. "I have my own life, KP; I don't need your permission to do everything!"

"How could you possibly be so selfish, Ron?" Kim snarled. "Don't you realize she's just using you, using you to turn you against me? You can't trust her! I know her!"

"No, KP, you really don't." Ron glared. "I've gotten to know Shego better than you will ever take the time to discover."

"Do you know just how naive you sound?" Kim gasped out in disbelief. "You're hurting me, you're being used by her, and you don't care, do you? Why? Is it because she sleeps with you? Use your brain, Ron, instead of what's between your legs!"

"Listen to yourself, KP; do you know what you sound like?" Ron informed, his voice growing quiet.

"Just go away, Ron." Kim shook her head sadly. "I don't even want to look at you right now." Ron beat a hasty retreat, not wanting to damage their friendship further.

If she was perfectly honest with herself, Kim had to admit it was much more than just Shego. She'd be unhappy about anyone Ron was currently dating, even if they weren't an enemy of hers. Kim still had feelings for Ron and was hoping to rekindle their relationship one day once she had recovered from everything she had been through in the past year. _But did you really expect him to wait? _Kim asked herself. It didn't seem fair to him.

_Shego's intruding on your territory; you know how to put an end to it. _A voice laughed inside her head. _She can't stand against you._

No, she wouldn't do it, however tempting it currently was. What hurt most of all, though, even more that he was dating Shego, was that Ron hadn't mentioned anything to her. He didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth. He didn't think she could handle it; Kim conveniently overlooked how she had initially reacted, and had she thought of that, might have concluded that there was some validity in Ron's reasoning. However, she was too angry and upset for it even to cross her mind.

What was happening to their friendship? Why was it, that no matter how she tried to repair the damage, it never seemed to be enough? Oh, Kim always enjoyed spending time with him and on the surface, it appeared as if nothing had changed. Looking deeper, though, both of them had. They hung out together much less than they had previously. Kim subconsciously went out of her way at times not to talk to him, or made excuses as to why she couldn't meet up with him. It was an unpleasant realization.

Kim was aware that they had more important things to worry about, like staying alive; her relationship drama was beyond trivial in comparison. Insignificant or not, she couldn't get it out of her mind.

XXXXXXXXXX

These were the occasions where Gil believed that he had sold his soul. Most of the jobs Fukushima sent him on were unpleasant, dangerous, and life-threatening. There were many occasions where he thought about just giving it all up, running away, fleeing, even trying to kill him in order to break free from his imprisonment.

However, as soon as those thoughts came, he knew it was folly. His brother was held hostage to his good behavior and Fukushima made it clear that if Gil ever betrayed him, Matt would suffer the most painful death he could imagine. For his brother's sake, for the last of his family, Gil stayed his hand and did what Fukushima ordered. It did not mean he hated him any less.

After months, he had been almost completely broken. His entire world revolved around Fukushima, either doing his bidding or accepting his punishment. _I'd never imagined there could ever be such pain. _Gil thought. His monstrous form was little protection against the kind of dark powers his master could use against him.

For that matter, Global Justice agents had proven quite competent. Gil had undoubtedly injured them all, possibly seriously, but he took great care not to actually take a life. His soul was already blackened enough as it was; he didn't want murder on his conscience.

_And to think in the fact, I considered Stoppable the worst human being on Earth. _Gil almost laughed at his previous naivete. He had learned what true evil really was. Gil stared in the face of it every day, served it, bowed to it, all the while desperately wishing he could escape. It had given him a new perspective on life, and while there was very little hope in his mind left, there was still a tiny flicker in the back of his mind.

"Did you get what I wanted?" Fukushima asked, making Gil jump nearly a foot. As time went on, Fukushima even looked disfigured and vicious, thanks to the rituals he performed in order to boost his power. His eyes glowed red, and his face became increasingly pale.

"Yes, yes, here he is." Gil told him over and over again, on the verge of panic. Sometimes, his brother was tortured even when his mission was successful, for no other reason than as a reminder as to how powerless he was.

"Good to know; Monkey Fist may yet be useful." Fukushima looked over the sedated man coldly. "When he approached me, I was merely a student, but now I am the master." Gil got the feeling that Fukushima was talking much more to himself than to Gil. He loved to go on and on about how great and powerful he was; typical villain behavior.

_Though I've never seen any of them this depraved. _Gil thought, but his facial expressions betrayed nothing, another painful lesson he had learned during his time here. He heard news snippets sometimes about him being in Missing Persons, but doubted that anyone would find him. Even if they did, even if they discovered everything, what could they possibly do? They'd just be more of Fukushima's victims.

"He will wake up soon enough, hopefully at least partially cured from my former master's treatment." Fukushima smiled. "It seems to be going quite well. The alliance I made has been quite beneficial." He waved for Gil to follow him, something he did only after he reminded himself of the consequences of not doing so.

Gil closed his eyes to the horrors that awaited in this chamber. He could smell the death inside it, the rot of decaying bodies. He knew only a few basics of what went on inside here, and he prayed that he would never know the rest. Even what little knowledge he had was enough to make his stomach turn, and the stench very nearly made him vomit.

In the center of the room, surrounded by blue crystals, a young woman with a bag over her head had her arms tied behind her as she struggled to get free, yelling with all her might. Gil wanted to tell her that the place was soundproof, but refrained. She would find out for herself soon enough. He wanted to kill Fukushima and rescue her, as he had with all the other victims. Gil vaguely recognized her, but it didn't matter who she was; no one deserved what was about to happen to her.

"I'm glad you decided to stop by, Monique." Fukushima laughed, taking the bag off of her head. Monique... he vaguely remembered her as a girl who used to go to Middleton High.

_Wasn't she one of Possible's friends... _Gill mused, and his mouth dropped open as the full implications set in. He knew the precise purpose of this session.

"Go to hell, whoever you are." Monique spat at him. Gil was forced to admit, she had guts. Most of the others were too terrified to speak. She was frightened too- that much he could easily read- but she persisted with her defiance.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to why I brought you here?" Fukushima smiled.

"I'll take a wild guess and say this is supposed to be a trap in order to lure Kim and Ron here so you can kill them and continue your plan to 'TAKE OVER THE WORLD'. Monique responded dryly. "Really, it's not that difficult."

Fukushima chuckled and circled her as she struggled to get free. "Yes and no; my interest is the outsider. He'll pay for everything he's ever done to me."

"Yep; again, doesn't surprise me at all." Monique rolled her eyes.

Without even the slightest warning, Fukushima launched red lightning out of her fingertips, the energy pouring into Monique's body. Despite her attempts to appear strong, her screams echoed throughout the room. It was more pain than she had felt in her entire life; it felt like her body was on fire. Her body convulsed, her arms mowing as much as they could in the restraints.

Gil looked away, trying to block out as much of the sound as he could. He wanted to help her, he truly did, but his brother was all he had left, and he swore to keep him alive, even if that meant blackening his soul in the process.

_You can't turn your back on this again! _He screamed at himself, willing his body to move. Fukushima was focused on his victim. Whatever his power, he was still human. In his mutant form, he would be easy prey if he could take him by surprise.

If. Unless he killed Fukushima immediately, his brother would be the one enduring the pain Monique currently was. It halted Gill for the moment, although his conscience was still fighting hard to make itself heard. He took a single step closer, mind conflicted, unwilling to watch the spectacle, but feeling helpless to stop it.

The torture had turned Monique into a sobbing wreck. She had always considered herself a strong woman and not easily broken, but she'd do anything to avoid going through something like that again. "Please... please stop." Monique managed to gasp out, forcing herself not to let the tears fall. Her heart was pounding and her veins still felt like they were on fire. She wanted to remain defiant, to hold out hope that she would be rescued, but it was becoming more difficult by the second.

"You'll have to be more specific." Fukushima informed, resuming his attack with even greater intensity than before. His face beamed in joy as a smile spread out across it. Gil couldn't stop himself from shuddering.

This was what he swore to serve. Reluctantly, perhaps, but he still worked for him. Gil now saw what happened to the others, the bodies that were hung up around the home. And it looked like this Monique girl was about to be next.

_I can't watch this! _Gil screamed, barely managing to keep from saying it aloud. His legs turned to jelly, so weak that they could hardly support him. He knew he should do something, that he couldn't just watch her die, but there was nothing he could do. Now, though, he was even beginning to question if keeping his brother alive was worth serving a creature like this.

Fukushima paused again and by now, Monique had given in. Her tears flowed freely as she begged him: "What do you want? Why are you doing this? I'll do anything!"

"I want to listen to your suffering!" Fukushima exclaimed, one hand firing energy from his fingertips, the other firing red balls of energy, scorching his body. Gil collapsed and threw up on the floor, unable to endure the sight of the scene any longer.

Whatever his decision was, he was going to have to make it quickly. Already one of her shoulders had dislocated from the convulsions and Gil was unable to tune out her screams. His heart broke for her, and he was slowly gathering up the courage to try. Fukushima could not continue with whatever his plots would ultimately lead.

"You are pathetic; you are nothing." Fukushima grinned. "Even the outsider is stronger than you, but nevertheless, you have an important part to play." Gil could smell the burned flesh of her body and a couple of areas where her clothes had melted into her skin. "Do you think your precious Possible is going to jump to the rescue? She's already been killed by Global Justice, thanks to my ally! You are alone, you are helpless, and by the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging me for death."

Futilely, Monique tried to run from him, but her injuries were such that she could barely get to a sitting position, much less try to escape, since her hands were still bound. It resembled a wounded animal trying to flee from its tormentor. Fukushima did nothing to chase her down. In fact, he seemed downright amused by her efforts.

"No, no, you're not going anywhere." Fukushima informed, hitting her with another dose of lightning.

He couldn't watch any longer and retreated from the room, cursing his cowardice. Now, though, Gil understood that he could not be allowed to continue.. Despite what Fukushima thought, he believed Team Possible was around. He'd have to simply wait for the right moment to make his move.


	4. Complications

` "I never thought I'd actually be doing something like this." Ron admitted to Shego. "Is this really necessary?"

"Look, it was difficult enough to persuade Doctor D. to actually let you and princess stay in his lair." Shego explained for the eighth time. That was putting it mildly. She needed to convince him that it was in his interests to do so, no easy task. "If you're going to stay here, you're going to need to do him a couple favors."

"We're robbing a bank; this isn't what I signed up for!" Ron protested.

"Look, I did everything I could for you." Shego snapped. "I'm sorry if you can't live the saint-like existence you wanted!"

"I'm sorry, Shego; things are just a little rough right now." Ron mentioned in a considerable understatement. Kim had yet to speak a single word to him ever since she discovered that the two of them were in a relationship. He tried talking to her repeatedly, but she just brushed him off. Ron had no idea what to do except wait and hope she came to her senses.

"She really doesn't deserve you, you know." Shego shook her head. She was delighted to have Ron in her life. She had almost forgotten what having someone actually care about her even felt like. Sure, there was Drakken, but he was technically her boss, even if she was running the show a lot of the time. Kim had no idea how lucky she was to have someone standing beside her, no matter what.

"Now... what's your plan?" Ron asked, kissing Shego to distract her. She knew precisely what he was doing, but let him anyway.

"This is actually quite simple, at least for me." Shego responded. "Little suggestion: try to make yourself look less like Ron Stoppable. You said Global Justice is trying to kill, so might be a bad idea to go out looking like that."

"You want me to wear some black ninja outfit?" Ron asked. He was realizing that there was a lot more to the villain business than was apparent at first glance.

"That's putting it mildly." Shego stated and Ron realized that he must have spoken out loud. "Navy blue actually works a lot better if you want to hide yourself." She tossed him his clothes, a dark blue shirt and pants. Ron had a slight blush on his cheeks. "Fine, if you're going to be so modest, I'll turn around. _Yeah, right. _Shego thought.

Ron changed into the outfit quickly, wanting this job to be over with as soon as possible. He hated the very idea of breaking the law, even if it might seem necessary. Of course, he still had a choice, but as far as he was concerned, it was better that he do it than Kim. She had not fully recovered from her experiences and the recent betrayals had only shook her more. If she and Shego were in the same room together, only one of them might emerge alive. It wasn't hyperbole, much as Ron prayed it was.

"You know, I did notice you looking." Ron commented in an effort to break the tension. Contrary to what he thought previously, it didn't bother him much.

"I am a villain; I'm allowed to be bad." Shego reminded him.

"You know, that does have a certain appeal." Ron teased, kissing her. She wrapped her arms briefly around him before pushing him away.

"Save it, handsome; we've got a job to do." Shego scanned the bank's security cameras, forcing herself to keep her hormones in check. "Okay, there's a gap there where they can't see us."

"How can you tell that?" Ron inquired.

"Hey, I've got plenty of experience; I know what I'm doing." Shego pointed out. Ron agreed, although it made him uncomfortable. Having a relationship with someone on the other side of the law was difficult at the best of times, and this was far from ideal. They had agreed to keep that seperate, but now circumstances had forced the two of them together.

_Remember, this is for Kim. _He told himself repeatedly. It didn't do anything to settle the unease in his stomach.

"Now when we're in this building, don't talk." Shego instructed. "Don't make a single sound. They might know me, but for you, the consequences would be a lot worse." Ron nodded in response, appearing outwardly calm but trembling inside.

Shego fired the grapple gun, launching herself up to the roof. After a few seconds of hesitation, Ron followed and climbed up to the ceiling. He felt shivers that had nothing to do with the weather. His conscience was telling him that this was wrong, that he should simply turn back now and let Shego do this alone. She'd manage it alone and he doubted that she would rat him out to Drakken.

But he stayed and he couldn't explain why. Ron stayed silent and mindlessly followed Shego as she began to climb down one of the air vents. He had some difficulty fitting, but ultimately managed to do so. He was too terrified to speak a word, even if his girlfriend had not given him any such instructions. Any minute now, they could be discovered, caught, ambushed... the possibilities were endless.

Shego slowly removed one of the air vents and hopped down. Ron did so much less smoothly and slammed onto the floor, sending a sound that echoed everywhere. Both of them noticeably winced and Ron looked around nervously. He wouldn't doubt there were at least a couple of security guards around.

She slapped her forehead and helped him up, hoping that it hadn't given either of them away. Shego's eyes were peeled for security cameras, even though she had been checking the place out for a week before actually doing this. _Follow me, _she gestured, and Ron reluctantly did so. What he didn't realize was that Shego had her own doubts about this as well.

She led him inside a room that seemed perfectly ordinary. "So is this..." Shego hastily covered his mouth before he could speak up. She ran a finger across her mouth to indicate to him that he should be silent.

"We got it." Shego whispered. She headed to the wall and cut the power radiating through the building, shutting down the security cameras and disabling the electromagnetic lock around the bank safe. All of this took less than a minute, but to Ron, each second just dragged on and on. He saw people around every corner, jumped at every shadow.

Ron's eyes widened at just how much money was in there. There was no way either of them could carry that much back out to the vehicle. He stood there for several moments, unwilling to actually take the final step and rob them.

"Look, Ron, I know this isn't ideal." Shego sighed. "I know you're not comfortable with this and if you want, you can just wait for me. It won't take very long to scoop it all up."

Ron left without a second thought, still wanting to get away from the whole scenario. He was hoping to drag Shego away from her criminal life. In spite of the fact she had gone back to it after the Ambrose battle, he still had hope that she could one day rise above it. Instead, he was getting dragged into it. He knew it was up to Drakken, but honestly, Shego seemed to be the one effectively in charge. Why hadn't she aruged harder?

_Maybe your feelings for her are blinding you to the truth. _Ron mused, hating the possibility, but unable to completely dismiss it either. She had turned back into a criminal, despite the fact that he believed she had moved past it. Would she ever? Kim certainly didn't seem to think so, though her objectivity was suspect at best. He knew there was a good side to her. If there wasn't, she'd never have taken Kim in, however grudgingly.

"Course, we've got bigger problems right now." Ron muttered. He pulled out him Kimmunicator. It was something he had pestered and pestered his friend about until she had finally relented and given him one so they could stay in contact with each other.

He messed around with it for a minute and pulled out Wade's video, sorely tempted to call him and figure out if he had uncovered anything. Ron knew there was no question he would be there; the computer prodigy practically lived at his computer, and he wouldn't be in the least surprised if he slept next to it.

Unfortunately, he was almost certainly being monitored by elements of Global Justice that wanted Kim dead. While he was fairly confident that Wade and Director could bypass that, he was not certain enough to risk making contact with him. It was a pity; Team Possible wasn't complete without him, and they were certainly noticing the lack. Neither of them could draw attention to themselves in order to discover the one behind this, but Wade could do it.

"Not worth the risk," Ron shook his head. If Wade contacted them, he'd be delighted to find out what he knew, but all they'd gotten so far was silence, which he interpreted as a bad sign. He only barely kept himself from attempting it, which spoke volumes of his desperation.

Shego jumping back into the car, complete with two full bags of money, shoved Ron out of his thoughts. She stepped on the gas without another word, not wanting to linger around in case the two of them were caught. To him, that was just fine. Ron didn't feel much like talking at the moment. How could she be so calm about robbing people?

"You're better than this, Shego." Ron finally spoke up in little more than a whisper. "Why do you do this? Why did you choose to turn back into a criminal? You had a chance to leave it all behind, to become a better person. You threw that chance away; why?"

"Why is it any of your business what I do, Stoppable?" Shego demanded. His questions were far too close for comfort, so she resorted to what she usually did when pushed into an unfamiliar situation.

"It's entirely your choice." Ron informed her. "I'm not going to cut ties with you just because I disagree with your choices."

"Do what you want; I don't give a damn." Shego dismissed, but that was a blatant lie and from the look on Ron's face, it was evident that he was aware of that as well. Despite his reassurances, she did fear that he would leave her the way so many others had in the past.

"Of course you do, and I think you know." Ron replied. "You're not a slave to your old habits. This isn't your destiny, no matter how you might think otherwise. Just think on that."

"Enough, Ron; I'm not one to be sentimental." Shego all but snarled.

"Just think on it for a while." Ron replied simply.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim paced down her room, still fuming over the information she had just been given. How could this possibly have happened? Ron and Shego... together? Her mind couldn't wrap around the concept. She couldn't blame Ron for it; it wouldn't be the first time he'd had his heart played with. Shego? No, there had to be something more to this.

_If Shego's leading him on, I'm going to rip her apart! _Kim promised. The idea that Shego actually liked him never even crossed her mind. All she could see is her best friend getting his heart broken again because her arch-enemy decided to get to her in an indirect method. The incident with Eric crossed her mind, and she swore to herself that it would not happen again.

Ron walked through the corridor and Kim ran to try and catch up to him. She knew she owed him an apology; it wasn't fair to blame anything on him. After all, he was the only victim in this whole mess. Not only was he being strung along, but she had the gall to take her outrage out on him! "Ron, are you all right?" She asked. "Look... I'm sorry about snapping at you yesterday. You did nothing to deserve it and I was completely out of line."

Ron did nothing but stare blankly at her. "Look... I know you're mad at me, and I'll admit, I deserved it." Still not a word. "Can you just say something, damn it?!"

Ron raised his head and spoke simply: "I'm sorry if I upset you, Kim. I'm just not in the mood to talk right now." He walked past her without another word.

"Shego..." Kim hissed dangerously. _She must have done something to him. _Kim thought. She jogged to her room, intent on discovering the answer, even if she had to literally rip it out of her mind.

It didn't take long for her to figure out where her room was. Upon arriving, she made a point of memorizing the entire complex. Odds were that once this threat had ended, this would be one of the lairs she and Ron would have to hunt down and destroy, and she had no intentions of being taken by surprise.

As expected, Shego was there, laying down in a deck chair in front of a tanning bed. To get her attention, Kim picked it up and smashed it into the wall, sending glass flying everywhere. A couple of pieces cut her skin, although not deeply enough to draw blood.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Shego demanded, doing her best to hide her nervousness. She was tired of running from Kim every time she got angry, however, and stood her ground.

"What did you do to Ron?" Kim demanded, shoving her against the wall, her eyes blazing with fury. It took all the self-control she had not to simply snap her neck.

"I didn't do anything to him!" Shego protested, although that wasn't entirely true. Although reluctant, she did drag him along to the bank job, which would explain his foul mood.

"Liar!" Kim screamed, striking Shego across the face and sending her to the ground. Shego immediately bounced back, ignoring the bits of glass in her feet, igniting her plasma to a far greater degree than she normally did. Not quite enough to kill her, but it would cause Kim serious injury if any of the shots connected. "He wouldn't speak a single word to me! I know you, Shego; I know you had something to do with this!"

"You're more pathetic than I ever imagined." Shego laughed. "You're jealousy's getting to you; little wonder he doesn't want to talk to you! You've never wanted him to form an opinion of his own. All you wanted was a lost little puppy that did whatever you wanted him to do, and now that he's grown some backbone, you're ballistic!"

"How... how dare you?!" Kim managed to stammer out. Her mind was seeing red, and she mentally calculated how long it would take her to kill Shego and flee before anyone noticed her.

Shego noticed that circumstances were getting dangerous and was half-tempted to run before things got worse. No matter what Ron tried to argue, Kim was not the same person she was before her kidnapping and if this was any indication, it was quite possible that she never would be. Nevertheless, she stood her ground; this fight had been coming for a long time now. "Yes, how dare I speak the truth?" Shego replied sardonically. "You've never cared about what he wanted; you've always taken him for granted. Does he actually mean anything to you or is he just around to enhance your image as a teen hero?"

"I care about him; he's the best friend I ever had." Kim managed to keep her voice steady, but only just. Remembering what ripping Shego limb from limb would do to Ron, however tempting it might have been, kept her from doing anything more than glare. "That's why I'm here. He's had enough pain in his life, and I'm not about to let you manipulate him to get back at me."

"Is that what you think?!" Shego couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. "You're an even bigger idiot than I suspected, which is saying a lot. Even now, when you're claiming to care about him, you're turning this back onto yourself! God, you're a selfish bitch, and what's worse is that you don't even realize it!"

"I'm selfish?!" Kim snarled. "You're the criminal, you're the one who makes her living trying to take over the world! You're the manipulator, you're the one playing with Ron, and you dare to call me selfish?!"

"As a matter of fact, yes!" Shego screamed. "If you really want to know, he came along with me to a bank robbery because Doctor D. insisted your earn your keep if you're going to stay here!"

"I wish I could stay I couldn't believe this, but as a matter of fact, it's not hard at all." Kim clenched her fists. "You're just trying to make him like you; don't try lying to me and say Drakken put you up to it. That's it; if you ever come near him again, I'll..."

"It was his choice!" Shego interrupted before Kim could utter her latest threat. "It was either him or you, and he decided to take your place. Ron said that you were suffering enough, that he would rather it be him than you."

For once, Kim was at a loss for words. He had volunteered for it? Just to spare her the pain of breaking the law? Her anger began to face as she looked at Shego. "I... I had no idea."

"You never even bothered to ask." Shego wasn't about to let her off that easily. "He came with you, risking his life to keep you safe, and as far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve him. He's sacrificed everything for you, and still lets you treat him as a punching bag. Look, this isn't a game. I actually care about him, obviously more than you do at the moment. I don't give a damn what your opinion of it is; we're together and it's up to us, not you."

Kim walked out, still trying to digest the information that she had just been given. She wanted to say that Shego was lying, that this was nothing but a ploy to tear the two of them apart.

Yet she was forced to admit that her enemy had a point. She hadn't been treating him that well ever since they had been forced to go on the run. She was moody and depressed, often snapping at him for no reason, and he never so much as snapped back at her. He'd given up everything to assist her, and she had yet to show him any gratitude.

It was tempting to blame the effects of her new abilities on her mind, but she knew that was just an excuse. Off balance or not, it was still her saying those things. There was nothing Kim could say that would justify her treatment.

Kim mentally promised herself to behave better; he deserved that much.

XXXXXXXXXX

Director had been searching for over a week and still had made less progress than she was hoping for. She thought she would have the whole mystery solved by now, but the specifics continued to elude her.

At least it appeared that most of her Agents who knew about Order 31 thought it was complete and utter nonsense. Being an expert in body language, she could easily read as much off of them. Perhaps there was still some hope for this world after all...

But this order had to have come from high up, from her superiors. The question was: which one? Officially, according to the news, Team Possible had gone missing and were considered highly dangerous. Global Justice received over 1,000 tips a day by people claiming to have spotted her. Most of it was nonsense, of course, but she stonewalled the search anyway, not wishing to take any unnecessary chances.

So far, she had confirmed that the order had some from Section 13, a shadowy intelligence community that few had ever heard of. While Global Justice was an open secret, Section 13 was almost an anomaly. Even Director knew little about them, save their name and basic objective. While she did admit that they saved a lot of lives, she couldn't condone the methods they used.

The order came from them, or at least from someone within Section 13. The question was: why? She knew that initiating the order was incredibly rare and only done when it was considered too dangerous to bring someone in alive. _What do they think she did? _Director mused.

The pieces were beginning to come into place as she investigated every crime that might be serious enough to grab attention. There were reports of a series of murders, and a description of the suspect fit Miss Possible's basic appearance, although as of yet, little was known about who it was. The victims were all criminals, by all accounts the worst of the worst. Nobody would shed a tear at their passing.

"That isn't enough, though." Director muttered. Part of the mystery had been discovered, but there was still much to uncover. If she was other suspicion, she would be monitored, not murdered. No, there was something missing, a piece that if she discovered it, would bring everything else together.

Not only that, but she was closing in on the person whom she believed had set Kim up. She barely noticed one of her agents coming through the door. "Director, we've got an intelligence report that I think you may find of interest." Tristan informed her.

"Thank you; is there anything else?" Director inquired, not wishing to waste any time she didn't have to.

"Nope, I'll return to my duties." Tristan departed. Director was amazed at how well he was doing, considering he was new here. At least he was firmly on her side... she hoped. One of the worst parts about this was that even if most seemed loyal, she could never be sure of who was not.

Director looked over the intelligence report, which looked like they finally had a lead on who was responsible for all of this. If all went well, Team Possible would be coming home soon.

XXXXXXXXXX

Well, hopefully, you enjoyed the new installment. I admit, Kim does seem to have some rather skewed priorities, considering that she's running for her life. Course, nobody ever said relationships were easy. At any rate, please read and review; chapter 5 should be done in a few days.


	5. Close encounter

Well, this took me longer than I expected it would. I'm sorry about the delay, but I was feeling depressed for a few days, meaning that it was rather difficult for me to get anything accomplished.

To answer your questions: No, Section 13 was something I thought was my own and has no relation to any other franchise.

"So what next?" Ron asked himself. They couldn't stay in this place forever. For one thing, he had the suspicion that pretty much everyone in Drakken's lair heard the shouting match between KP and Shego. He was on the other side, but thanks to the acoustics, he had little difficulty making out every word. Sooner or later, somebody would let their location slip.

And ever since their spat, Shego had barely spoken two words to him. He inquired as to why that was the case, but had yet to get any kind of answer out of her. _This is definitely not what we need right now. _They had to focus on finding out who was responsible for setting them up, but instead Kim spent a lot of her time glowering at Shego; it seemed her priorities were rather skewed, to say the least.

In order to get away from it, Ron spent his time practicing his abilities, both to prepare for the coming confrontation and as a distraction from all the drama going on around him. By now, he was getting close to be able to lift his own body weight with telekinesis, and his energy shots were more powerful and more accurate than ever.

"Ron... can I talk to you?" Kim finally caught up to him, interrupting his informal training. She had the impression that he was avoiding her, just as she was doing to him before. Much as it had hurt, it was hard for her to argue that she didn't have it coming.

"What do you want, KP?" Ron sighed, hoping this wasn't going to be a tirade about Shego.

"I just... I wanted to apologize." Kim forced out the words, hating the fact that she had to admit that Shego was right about anything. "I shouldn't have treated you that way. I've been so caught up with my own problems that it was easy to forget that you were suffering as well."

"Anything else?" Ron asked, looking at her coldly. He wasn't inclined to let her off easily, not this time.

"Just... can you forgive me for being foolish and taking the best friend I ever had for granted?" Kim wondered, a little apprehensive. Most of her thought that he'd smile and shrug it off, like what usually happened when they thought, but this time, she wasn't so sure. That distance between them was manifesting itself, and she knew not all of it could be blamed on her kidnapping. Part of it, at least, was because of her.

"Yeah, I can forgive you." Ron smiled at her. He then turned serious again. "However, I am going to make something very clear. You have absolutely no say in what happens between Shego and myself. The choice is mine and mine alone. I don't expect you to become friends with her- you don't even have to like her- but what I am asking is that you accept that I can make my own decisions about my life."

Kim failed to respond for a few seconds. For most of their lives, she had always been the one in charge. She led, he followed; it was the natural order of things. Hell, responsibility frightened him more than anything else. Now, though, she was seeing him in a whole different light. "All right... I guess you have a deal." Kim responded. She was both happy and disappointed that Ron didn't need her guidance anymore.

Ron hugged her and lifted her off the ground, taking her by surprise. "That's great, KP!" He smiled at her, beginning to come back to her old self. "Come on, I want to show you some of my new tricks. You wouldn't believe what I've been able to accomplish in a short period of time!"

"All right, Ron, what do you have?" Kim wondered. She didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, but there was something she needed to point out. "We are in our arch-enemies' lair right now, so I wouldn't show everything at once. Let's make sure we have a couple surprises for the future."

"I already disabled both security cameras Drakken has in here." Ron shrugged. He extended both hands and closed his eyes, focusing intently. Kim gasped as she began to notice herself levitating off the ground.

"Ron, what are you doing?!" Kim exclaimed. She broke his concentration and she landed on the ground in a crouch. Fortunately, she was up less than a foot.

"I just wanted to show you my progress." Ron smiled at her. "What do you think?"

"Wow, that's... that's amazing." Kim was forced to admit. There was a bit of jealousy in her voice, but she did her best to suppress it. _You've acted childish long enough. _She told herself. _Just be happy for him._

"We've been stuck in this place for over a week; I needed something to do." Ron shrugged. "I even managed to meditate for an hour and a half without falling asleep."

"Who are you and what have you done with Ron Stoppable?" Kim grinned. "Must be a synthrodone or something."

"Nope; if I was, I'd manage to stay quiet while Drakken ranted and raved about his latest plans." Ron responded. " 'I, the great Doctor Drakken, have devised a way to conquer the world with my blah-blah-blah device that... does something I can't remember. Shego!' " Kim began to giggle hysterically, despite her efforts to hold it back. That was a surprisingly accurate parody.

" 'yeah, yeah, I'm totally listening.' Kim imitated Shego, pretending to read a magazine and rolling her eyes. It was amazing how set all of them had become in their patterns.

"It... it is good to see you talking to me again, KP." Ron admitted. "I know it's far from our first quarrel, but I always worry that something's going on happen."

"Ron, I'm not going to leave you, even if I get mad at you sometimes." Kim fretted. Did he really think she would do that to him? _Can you blame him, after the way you've been treating him lately? _Her thoughts betrayed her.

"I know, KP, but it still isn't pleasant." Ron shook his head. "Sorry if I'm depressed; just having trouble pushing our current situation out of my head." They had little to distract themselves, meaning that an already difficult task was nearly impossible.

"It's ok, Ron; I'm having the same problem." Kim admitted. Both of them sat down next to each other, while Kim sat her head on Ron's shoulder. "What must our parents be thinking right now?" On one hand, she could understand the instructions for her not to inform her parents about what was going on. They were mediocre actors at best and it wouldn't take long for one of them to slip and for others to realize that she wasn't dead after all. On the other hand, they were likely devastated and she desperately wanted to tell them that she was all right and for them not to worry.

"Wonder what mine are saying," Ron mused. "I'll bet they've already rented out my room." His voice held considerable bitterness. Kim knew that her friend often had a strained relationship with his parents. They were away at work a lot of the time and unlike Kim's own, often allowed that to be an obstacle between them. He had gotten used to being independent at a young age. Well... semi-independent; Kim usually pulled him along her path.

"Don't say that, Ronald; I'm sure they miss you." Kim interjected.

"Wish I could believe the same," Ron replied and fell quiet after that. Kim had always tried to push them to become closer. It worked at times, but it never seemed to last very long. It didn't help that his mother had a strong distaste for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"And with this latest upgrade, I will finally be able to defeat Kim Possible!" Drakken cackled, referring to the upgrades he was making on a pair of synthrodrones.

"Uh... you do realize that they're currently your guests inside this lair, right?" Shego pointed out. She sometimes found it hard to believe just how absent-minded her employer was. It was the fourth time she had reminded him of that fact ever since they had shown up. He might be a genius when it came to electronics, but he was quite ignorant of just about anything else.

"Oh... ah... I mean once all of this is over!" Drakken exclaimed.

"Oh, you're not going to ambush them and take advantage of their trust?" Shego sneered in order to hide her concern. She hoped she wasn't going to have to choose between Drakken and Ron. Kim she would gladly attack if she believed she had a chance of surviving the experience, but she'd grown to care about Ron. She didn't dare to use the word "love", not yet.

"Of course not!" Drakken shrugged. "I may be a villain, Shego, but I'm a man of my word."

"Great; have fun." Shego dismissed, but in truth, she was much relieved by his words. Her mind had been full of questions for months, mostly in regard to the path she was currently on. She was extremely stubborn and hated admitting that she could be wrong in any way. It was one of the reasons she had gone back to her old life, even after she received a pardon from Global Justice.

She walked out of the room, intent on finding Ron. This wasn't exactly her plan to have him cooped up inside, but since she had the opportunity, Shego intended to take full advantage of it. _I'll bet that gives Kimmy nightmares. _The grin on her face was terrifying and a pair of henchmen scrambled to get out of her way.

"Come on, KP, it's not that bad!" Ron protested.

"You stay right there, and no arguments!" Kim insisted. Shego's jealousy ignited, and she rushed to find out what was going on. The logical side of her brain told her that there was little to worry about, but her insecurities were still strong, and she knew that Ron was at least attracted to Kim, even if they weren't dating anymore.

She opened the door, forcing her hands to remain free of plasma, and walked in on Kim wiping blood off of Ron's head. "What happened?" Shego went to him, all her jealousy forgotten.

"I... kind of tripped over my own feet and banged my head against the wall." Ron admitted sheepishly. Shego glared at Kim, certain that she had something to do with that.

"No, you tripped over my foot." Kim pointed out. A rough spot on the wall had a couple dabs on blood, indicating where he fell.

"I'm supposed to be the Mystical Monkey Master, and yet I still trip over my own feet." Ron grinned sheepishly.

Shego prepared herself for what she was about to say. She came to the conclusion reluctantly, but under the circumstances, did not believe that she had any other options. "Ron... bitch... I think we need to evacuate you two." Shego informed the duo.

"Why do you say that?" Ron wondered, raising his hand in order to quell Kim's inevitable outburst.

"As much as I hate siding with the... slut, I think Shego's right." Kim admitted. "I'd be amazed if everyone in here didn't know we were here by now. At least some of them would be willing to give us up, for the reward, if nothing else." That was true; the fact that it would mean Ron was away from Shego was a delightful bonus.

Ron stepped between the two of them, hoping to prevent any more bloodshed from happening. "Look, this is a big place and Drakken doesn't have many henchmen here." He interjected. "I know we've got cause for concern, and I'll keep my eyes open, but I don't think there's any need to panic just yet. Now... who's up for some Nacos? Finally found out where the kitchen!"

"I'm sorry, Ron." Shego hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you, but we've got to get you two out of here. I'll take you to one of the escape hatches, and you've still got most of the money that Director handed Kimmy." She was about to offer them some of the money that she had gotten from the robbery, but refrained when she realized how unlikely Team Possible was to take it, even if it was between life and death.

"If that's what you want," Ron sighed dejectedly. Shego began leading them to one of the escape tunnels, still unhappy about the way things were turning out.

She noticed Kim's suspicious glare and bit her lip to keep from replying. _What, do you think I'm leading you into an ambush? _Shego thought furiously. Had she planned on doing so, she would have separated them first; the two of them together were too formidable.

Unfortunately, it appeared as if they were already too late. When Shego turned the corner, she found two dead henchmen. Whoever was responsible had managed to take them both out without making a single sound or attracting notice. Kim and Ron were both visibly sickened by it. "Oh, my god..." Ron gulped. It wouldn't be the first time he'd seen a dead body, but it didn't make it easy to live with.

"Looks like we're going to have company soon." Kim sighed. It reminded her too much of the murder she had committed under Ambrose's direction. True, like the two in front of them, he was a career criminal, but as far as she was concerned, it didn't make her actions right. She still occasionally saw his face in her nightmares.

Shego pressed a button on her wrist communicator and exclaimed: "Doctor D, we've got at least a single intruder in the lair, probably more!"

"That's impossible; my monitors are covering every square inch of this complex!" Drakken protested.

"Have you bothered to look at them once since I left the room?" Shego inquired, knowing that the answer was more than likely no.

"Hold on... every last one of them is down!" Drakken exclaimed. "I see what you mean..." The alarm began to sound, nearly deafening the three of them with the noise.

"I'm feeling a little exposed here." Ron remarked. "Maybe we should find a place where we aren't so vulnerable."

"I'm still getting you out of here." Shego promised, her hands now ignited with a lethal level of plasma. She prayed she wouldn't have to actually use it on anymore, but knew that it might end up becoming necessary.

"They'll kill everyone in here to get to us." Ron pointed out. He wasn't sure if it was "they" or "him" or "her". His still untrained senses would not give him the information that they all needed. "I'm not letting them die."

"Look, I appreciate the heroics, but it's not a luxury we can afford right now." Shego informed her. Not only that, but she'd be able to fight with a clear head if she didn't have Ron to worry about. Now they were all but running for the exit, Shego hoping that she could get him out in time.

"They might also be waiting for us there, depending on how well they know the layout of this place." Kim warned.

"Wish you hadn't brought that up." Shego sighed. The same idea had occurred to her.

During their journey, they had not so far run into anymore, enemy or ally. Whether it was because whoever it was had not yet shown himself or that he had simply killed all the rest, none of them knew. None of them had to courage to ask that question, even to themselves.

"You know, I'll bet that whoever's doing this will surprise us just when it seems like we're about to get away." Ron blurted out.

"Why do you think that?" Shego asked, keeping her eyes peeled.

"Haven't you ever seen a movie?" Ron responded. "The hero's about to get away, thinking he's won, and the bad guy shows up for one final fight!"

"This is the real world, Ron, and you can't just..." Shego was interrupted by a red blast just as they were about to enter the room. The emergency door immediately shut as it was programmed to do in case anyone managed to break inside. However, that meant that Kim was trapped outside with no way to get in.

"This is going to be fun." Their opponent laughed.

"Fukushima?!" Ron screamed, recognizing the voice.

"I'm glad you know who your executioner is." Fukushima chuckled, sending a burst of lightning his way. Ron only barely managed to evade it, preparing himself for battle as best he could. He was far from an expert, but he could feel the changes Fukushima had made since the last time they met. His eyes were almost glowing red, his face was pale, and there was something downright terrifying from his grin.

Ron knew that if he lost, he wouldn't just die. He'd suffer for a long, long time before he did. "Let's take this bastard down." Shego suggested, the two of them moving on opposite sides of Fukushima.

"How touching; you think you're actually going to come out of this alive." Fukushima laughed. "You have no understanding of the power I've obtained..." He was blasted mid-rant, Ron deciding to take the opportunity.

XXXXXXXXXX

_I've got to get in there! _Kim thought frantically. She knew of Fukushima from the story Ron had given her from his brief trip to Yamanouchi, but she had never imagined that he would feel so... evil. She had no supernatural senses, but her stomach was weak when she spotted him. She refused to let Ron face him alone; even Shego didn't deserve what would likely happen to her.

Unfortunately, she had yet to find a way inside. Even with her enhanced strength, the door refused to budge and try as she might, she could not find any kind of override button.

Her heart jumped when she heard someone coming up behind her. Kim moved into a battle crouch, her mind still on getting through the door. "I'm afraid you're not going anywhere." Monkey Fist laughed. "Big brother isn't around to protect you anymore."

"Don't you dare mention him!" Kim screamed, bringing back all her memories, which was no doubt the intention.

"I was hoping to finish off Stoppable, but my master will have that pleasure." Monkey Fist's lip curled, indicating he was unhappy about that turn of events.

"Not a chance." Kim swore. "I'll kill you and him both if that's what it takes." She meant every word of it; nothing was going to get in the way of protecting him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Honestly, I wasn't originally planning to have Ron and Fukushima encounter each other so early in the story, but that's where it ended up taking me. Hope you enjoyed; I have a few more twists planned in the next chapter.


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